


with intentions of gold

by catastrophes



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Angel x Reaper AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-09 03:31:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12879276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catastrophes/pseuds/catastrophes
Summary: “Cross my heart,” Seongwu begins, tracing an ‘x’ sign over the left side of his chest with his finger. “And hope to die,” he ends.Minhyun replies plainly, “You’re already dead.”





	with intentions of gold

**Author's Note:**

> for 101 love songs [prompt #383](https://i.imgur.com/Pg9AZ1O.png). really nervous bc this is the first fic fest i've ever joined and i ended up having to rewrite this multiple times (played fast and loose with the mythological lore and took a lot of liberties with the trope)...i'm sorry in advance
> 
> disclaimer: morbid humor and mentions of death. kinda the entire premise so.  
> supplementary prompts: [1](https://twitter.com/dsm_dsm__/status/916285506622652416), [2](https://i.imgur.com/RCr4bjq.jpg)

 

 

It’s an especially busy day for death.

Seongwu feels like he hasn’t stopped moving since he began his work shift earlier this morning at what was by his standards, a very ludicrous hour. Normally he would never voluntarily be working the graveyard shift, but one of his reaper colleagues had called in sick and management had begged him to cover the extra reapings from his list today.

Likely excuse, Seongwu scoffs internally, because reapers don’t get the flu.

It was probably more so that Daniel was just trying to abscond his duties for the morning again in favor of being lazy as fuck. He’s lucky that rather than just being a colleague, he’s also one of Seongwu's closest friends because this is the third time and counting already in the past two months. He’d have to hold it over Daniel’s head for the next five years and coerce him into picking up his more unsavory tasks.

(Seongwu doesn’t particularly like to cover murder cases, specifically the more gory ones because even after so long, the sight of exposed entrails still makes his stomach turn. He’ll do anything to stick to the less messy deaths.)

Seongwu leans against one of the street lamp posts as he feels the weariness of the day begin to set in just like the soft glow of the evening starting to coat his surroundings. Guiding souls to the beyond takes up more energy than one can imagine.

He spins a miniature hourglass in between his thumb and finger, allowing the grains of sands to slip back and forth through to each glass casing. It’s a good thing that he has a grand total of ten minutes up his sleeve before his last scheduled reaping to catch his breath back. Seongwu prays it’s not another child since he’s already had to hold too many of their hands in the previous hours. However granted, when he has to ferry a young soul in the beginnings of their afterlife, the children are usually given automatic entry to the pearly gates since they haven’t had the timely opportunity to choose to sin, but Seongwu always shudders with the memories of some of the previous deaths he’s had to witness.

Seongwu knows nothing else apart from being a reaper. He doesn’t remember anything from his lives prior, or if he even had multiple reincarnations that is. That’s the beauty of death, amnesia is a wonderfully nice defensive mechanism, because really, who wants to be reminded of pain, fear and other pesky emotions that are characteristically associated with dying?

What he does remember is the countless days melding together of him going out to meet souls, beginning by donning one of the hundred meticulously tailored three piece suits in his possession, and ending with shining his dress shoes so they gleam again. Just because he isn’t alive doesn’t mean the laws of physics don’t apply to him in certain ways. He still can get blood on them if he’s not careful where he steps.

(He can also get hit by speeding objects and not die, he’s already dead, but it is a pain to explain the resulting consequence of vehicular manslaughter by air to the human driver.)

The suit is a drag to wear on certain days though, and when he’s particularly lazy like today for example, he tends to opt for a more casual look such as a thick cable knit sweater, and long drapey cardigan instead. 

(All black of course, a reaper always prefers black.)

But with the years of observation, Seongwu has come to learn that reaper life isn’t really any different to a human one. He still hangs up his metaphorical hat at the end of every work shift, has to perform menial tasks such as doing the laundry and he has after work drinks with friends and colleagues. The only glaring difference is the fact that he meets up with souls, souls that are well and truly dead, in between grabbing a coffee and reading the daily newspaper.

Anyway, Seongwu remembers monotony and routine. Most of all, he remembers death.

 

 

His phone buzzes interrupting his passing thoughts. Ah, it must be time.

Seongwu’s eyes blink open to watch a lady across the road from him clutch her chest, scream strangled in her throat as she drops like lead to the ground. It’s a quiet evening in a quiet neighborhood and there is no one around to save her. Her soul pops out immediately, hovering beside the physical entity. He strides over to her leisurely saying, “Baek Jooyeon, fifty seven years of age. Born at 6:02 am on 15th August, 1960. Died at 7:56 pm on 15th August 2017. Do you confirm?”

With life always comes death, and sometimes these coincidences happen and the loop end closes satisfactorily.

The lady doesn’t reply back immediately, but instead her eyes widen in surprise and she runs her hands down her body frantically in obvious panic. “I’m here, but h—how am I there at the same time?” She points to the corporeal body that is lying face down on the cold asphalt. “I was just out for my normal evening walk! I do it everyday!

“You died of a myocardial infarction. Or in other words, a heart attack,” Seongwu says slightly bored. She’s the last client of his shift and all he wants to do is go home and curl up on the couch. The surprise deaths are always the more complicated clients. They take far longer to come to terms with their state and to grasp the fact that they are now no longer apart of the living world. He hopes she’ll beat the odds.

His favorite TV drama is awaiting him.

“So you’re what they call Death?” The woman looks stupefied as she whispers her question with mild fear lacing her words.

“I am a soul reaper,” Seongwu corrects easily, like he has done multiple times (in fact, it’s probably been much more than thousands), “Just merely a facilitator of death. I’m the one that helps you through the first portion of the afterlife.”

The woman shakes her head, as though trying to clear away the cloud of confusion that plagues her. “How can you prove that you are a reaper? What about the hood, and the gigantic sharp blade that I always see in movies?”

“That blade is called a scythe by the way, and I can conjure one up now if you really want to be convinced.” Seongwu pauses to see if she does and when there’s no response, he continues, “We used to have to carry it when there were less rules in place and demons were a little more unruly trying to convince us to give up souls that weren’t meant to go to hell. But since humans were pretty unwilling to come with us in the first place, we got rid of them. A little less scary don’t you think?”

Seongwu swallows his yawn, trying his hardest to remain professional despite the familiarity. He is very used to this disbelief. Humans just can’t seem to get over the idea that reapers aren’t actually what they see portrayed in the media. Skeletal remains, tattered cloak, and an aura of emanating evil? Honestly, who came up with that sort of stuff? In his opinion, the best and most successful reapers are usually well dressed, and the most charming with a friendly (even if it’s fake) smile pasted on their faces. 

He’s learnt over the years that when it comes down to trying to convince someone to take a walk into the abyss with a stranger, it’s just a natural in-built behavior of human nature to be more pliant if you aren’t scaring the shit out of them.

Seongwu would also think most people would be happy to have someone (especially as visually appealing as he is) be there immediately in their first few minutes of the afterlife, but for some reason most people tend to shun his company once they realize what their new era of being is.

Their loss.  

“So I’m dead? Like actually dead, dead?” The woman repeats.

“Yes. Completely and utterly.”

“No—no—no—no—no, this can’t happen,” the woman begins to babble continuously, talking about how she can’t miss her daughter’s wedding that’s coming up in the next month, and how she can’t die now that she was recently given a new job promotion finally after consecutive years of doing menial tasks for a critical boss on a low pay grade. Her voice continues to rise in pitch. “Seriously why me? I eat well, and exercise every day. How can I have a heart attack? I’ve done everything right! This must be a mistake. Tell me you’ve made a mistake,” she finishes her tirade by crying pitifully into her hands.  

“Death makes no mistakes,” Seongwu tells her gently but firmly as he hands her a tissue to clean up. It’s not that he’s an emotionless void, in fact, he always sympathizes with these ones in particular, the souls that leave life too early, but after many years in this role, he’s become pretty desensitized after hearing all the various stories. Life isn’t fair, and death isn’t either.

As the woman’s wailing finally slows down into short hiccups, Seongwu sees a small barcode appear on the back of her hand and immediately moves to hover his phone over it.

Modern technology is wondrous.

In the last year, along with the implementation of their digital death schedules, management finally created and refined a new nifty working app that helps scan the code that appears on every dead human which helps to easily tell reapers their client’s calculable balance of good deeds and sins over their lifetime, and thus the final placement of the soul. Some of the ancient reapers stubbornly remain much more of a luddite than him and still insist on sticking to reading scrolls and scrolls of terrible handwriting but Seongwu prefers anything that will help make his work more efficient and accepted the change easily.

Sure, the effect of peering at a screen isn’t as mystical or otherworldly but hey, the days are already long enough.

The phone flashes, emitting a bright green glow.

The woman stares at it with apprehension, asking as she tries to decipher anything else on the screen, “What does that mean?” There is still a hint of tears in her voice but at least she seems on the verge of finally accepting her fate. Wait until she hears where she’s destined for.

Seongwu flashes her a pearly grin as he replies, slipping the phone back into his pocket, “All you need to know is that green means it’s your lucky day. You’re going to Heaven. You know, the promised land, nirvana, eternal rest, whatever you’d like to call it.”

The woman is hesitant but she slowly reaches her hand out to shakily place it on Seongwu’s outstretched palm, finally receptive after all that she’s heard. She stares at her surroundings for the last time, probably remembering all the years of her life and the happiness it’s given her.

“Ready?” She nods.

“Perfect, hold on tight now.”

They disappear in a plume of charcoal smoke.

 

 

* * *

 

 

That was a day in the life of Ong Seongwu, reaper extraordinaire. For the previous decades, it’s a nice routine of sleep, wake, reap, repeat.

The only thing is, even in death comes sudden surprises.

And not all surprises are what you call, nice.

It all starts off on one very average day like any other when Seongwu receives his third reaping schedule on a completely normal Tuesday:

 

It’s a balmy summer’s afternoon and Seongwu is able to almost feel the coolness of the ocean water against his skin.

Well, he would that is, if he wasn’t wearing his very favorite pair of shoes that would just get damp and sand logged if he decided to dip his feet in. He squints out at the horizon, and at the frothy tide that laps repetitively at the break.

Today’s reaping: Kim Jaehwan, a male university student who is supposed to drown when he gets a cramp in the middle of a rip tide. No one comes to his rescue because his friends have gone to walk down to the nearby convenience store and he keeps going under whenever he tries to shout for help. There is no lifeguard stationed at this secluded beach either. Simple enough.

Seongwu hopes the body floats his way so he can easily assist the soul since he doesn’t really have the inclination to go in to the water today.

Two more minutes. He came early for the schedule since he wanted to take in the view. After so many years of tedium, it’s a wonder he still isn’t sick of looking at simple pleasures like the spectacular panorama in front of him right now.

The trouble however begins right there when the scheduled death doesn’t occur as he expects.

Seongwu does a double take as he makes out a second shadow in the distance near where the college student is supposed to be drowning.

Seongwu’s heart clenches and is horrified to see  _his_ client being saved by a random stranger. He rubs his eyes in an effort to clear his vision but the nightmare image doesn’t disappear. Very mournfully, Seongwu looks down at his immaculately pressed, just dry cleaned suit before taking a deep breath of the salty air, and runs headlong into the ocean.

(Materializing into water is never particularly very accurate and he doesn’t want to chance it in this moment. Time is of the essence here.)

Swimming up to the pair, Seongwu clutches the man’s arm, trying to pull him away from Kim Jaehwan who is being kept afloat.

It’s instantaneous, the moment when he realizes that whoever the stranger is, he isn’t human when eyes flecked with gold lock onto his. The effect is pure molten, and the shade is something that can’t possibly belong to someone that only has blood in their veins.

 _What_  he is, is a different question altogether however.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Seongwu asks as he treads the water impatiently, ready to get out there as soon as he can. Swimming has never been a strong point of his, both in life and in death. Not that he honestly remembers much from before but he figures it’s probably where his lack of ability stems from. And in this very moment, he is also still very confused which is definitely not helping to make allowances for brain and limb coordination.

“I think you’re too early?” the man questions back confusedly, before nodding and saying firmly, “It’s not his time yet.” He’s decisive as he pulls away from Seongwu’s grip to strongly swim one handed back to shore, towing the body with him with some kind of herculean display of strength.

Okay, definitely not human.

Seongwu hurriedly paddles to follow them as fast as he can, but it isn’t quick enough to try and drown the student himself. He has to hastily remind his brain and body that as a reaper he doesn’t actually murder people. Seongwu wades from the water indignantly just to see Kim Jaehwan splutter awake, coughing out sheets of water onto the sand beside him.

His friends who had finally returned with ice creams in their hands come running up to him making the stranger slowly steps back away from the scene. Seongwu finally manages to catch a hold of a dripping jacket sleeve to ask, “You haven’t answered my question. Seriously, who are you?”

No one is supposed to mess with Death.

The stranger turns away from the commotion to smile at him as his eyes curve into golden half moons. “Hwang Minhyun, pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”

Seongwu stares at the proffered hand with half suspicion and half distaste. “I don't think a handshake is going to fix the catastrophe you just caused.”

Minhyun, with the smile still on his face, says amusedly, “Don’t get your pants in a twist, it’ll be fine.”

“Fine? Fine is when you answer the shop assistant about how the weather is like outside. Fine, is when a girlfriend answers her boyfriend even though she has a hundred things to say. Fine is not what you say to a reaper whose schedule you just fucked up!”

Seongwu almost wants to stomp on the ground in frustration but refrains from doing so when he remembers he is more than a century old and shouldn’t be acting like a kid.

There must be a logical reason for this mix up.

There has to be.

Minhyun shakes his head to sweep the wet hair out of his eyes as he replies lightly, “Jaehwan is  _my_ human, and it’s my job to make sure that he doesn’t die today. Please don’t worry so much.” Minhyun looks him up and down, before adding on, “Calm down, you look like you’re about to burst a vein.”

The throbbing on his forehead  _is_ getting stronger but Seongwu disregards it. A noise of exasperation croaks out from the back of his throat as he all but shoves his phone under Minhyun’s nose. “Look here, it says in black and white; Kim Jaehwan, twenty one years of age, death by drowning. I don’t know who you think you are but you can’t just come swanning in and change the fate of Death like this. There are rules in place for a reason!”

Minhyun pulls out an archaic piece of parchment from his jacket pocket. Just like Seongwu’s phone, it’s not even damp. He points at the glaring red writing that outlines Kim Jaehwan’s name, answering back easily, “And it is written right here that I’m supposed to save him today so obviously your schedule is wrong.”

Seongwu is affronted. “Death is never wrong.”

“Well, God is never wrong either,” Minhyun replies back staunchly.

The picture being painted right now is pretty much like one of those peak climatic scenes in an action film where the two protagonist faces off against each other (well in Seongwu’s mind, he’s the protagonist, and Minhyun’s the antagonist), frozen in the middle of a moving crowd. Only this time they are just outside the circular cacophony of worried people hovering over the still gasping Jaehwan, but as always no human can see them.

Seongwu’s still suspicious eyes narrows as he finally takes in Minhyun’s outward appearance. The other male is beginning to dry off under the overhead sun, and looks like a normal human being, however he is  _glowing,_ not radioactively but in some sort of luminescent way. He is also clad in a tailored white suit that fits him like a glove especially with the dampness of the water, and the purity of the color makes the brightness even more hurtful to the eye.

Hwang Minhyun is as radiant as the sun.

Seongwu rubs his thumbs against his temples.

This is not fucking happening.

Minhyun sings out, “I’m a guardian angel, if you didn’t already figure that out.”

Fuck. It’s happening.

( To get things straight, Seongwu isn’t actually surprised at the fact that Minhyun is an angel. Really, it’s an inevitable part of Seongwu’s work day that he normally has to deal with other supernatural beings. As a reaper, he is familiar with having to meet with both angels and demons as they have a tentative alliance with each other in order to get the routine job done. Whom he meets depends on whether the soul is destined for Heaven or Hell, but either way Seongwu is the middleman.

What he  _is_ surprised about is that he’s never encountered an angel in this sort of situation before. Never like this. In his career as a reaper, Seongwu has not had the opportunity to meet the subsection of angels that are guardians because their lines of work just don’t intersect with each other.

Usually brushes with death are purposefully threaded into a human’s life as merely various possibilities of choices, and only when the final day of a human’s life is truly upon them, a guardian angel’s job thus reaches its end. They are told of the termination date of their position several hours prior (in case they want to say goodbye) and are not allowed to be present at the exact moment of their human’s death.

Feelings are messy and guardian angels would just get in the way of a reaper’s duties.

Case in point. )

“A guardian angel,” Seongwu says shortly, in disbelief, “Where are your wings?” He is still unconvinced. This man standing in front of him is just a joke, another reaper in disguise that Daniel has set upon him to ruin his day.  _That shit._

“We haven’t even held hands yet, how can you ask to see my wings so easily?” Minhyun’s eyes look up to meet Seongwu’s and they look like they are twinkling, but Seongwu swears it must just the rays of the sun playing tricks on him.

“I swear to God—“

Minhyun interrupts Seongwu in the same breezy tone he’s employed all conversation, “God already recieves enough prayers on an hourly basis to bother with listening to your blasphemous ones, so stop your grumblings.”

Seongwu would say he is usually fairly tolerant in general (he has to handle demons on a daily basis for lucifer’s sake) but there’s something about this angel named Hwang Minhyun, facing him with such a demure expression in this moment that is beginning to grind his gears more than any other creature he's ever met.

He feels a slight twinge of a headache forming.

As if the angel could sense Seongwu’s growing ire, Minhyun immediately replies, “Alright, alright, if it’s going to stop you from being so annoyed for ten seconds, I’ll show them to you. They've been sore lately so that's why I didn't use them before.” Minhyun rolls his shoulders back, allowing a set of wings to slowly protrude out of his scapular line. 

Seongwu does in fact forget his own annoyance for quick moment as he is overcome with a strange feeling. He’s seen plenty of wings before but he’s never seen the actual act of an angel returning back to their supernatural form up close. He can’t help but hiss softly in sympathy when he sees the wincing expression that crosses Minhyun’s refined features. Seongwu almost feels sorry for asking for proof, but gets distracted by the fact that Hwang Minhyun is now standing in front of him in his full angelic glory, wings stretched out high behind him.

The brilliance casts dark shadows on the sand.

The first thought that crosses his mind is that Minhyun’s wings  _are_ a truly impressive sight, but Seongwu would be caught lounging around, drinking long island iced teas on holiday in Hell before you’d hear him admitting that out loud.

(Oh, the horror of having his immortal heart exposed like that.)

Seongwu forces an outward glare on to his face and says flatly, “How ostentatious of you.”

Minhyun merely laughs back, a pleasing sound filling the air. (Seongwu immediately decides he dislikes it.) He says, “You were the one that asked to see them. Hmm, does it offend your delicate reaper sensibilities to see such beauty?” His wings flex in the background as if to taunt Seongwu.

Seongwu sniffs in disdain at Minhyun’s sudden show of brazen self-conceit. In the recesses of his brain comes the message that he’d probably be like that too, only if he himself had wings of such calibre. If only he had wings. He mutters, “I hope you piss off a high level demon with that mouth of yours one day and you lose all your feathers one by one.”

Minhyun tuts back easily in retaliation as if torture scenarios were an everyday conversation starter. Only in their world. “You must have spent too much time with demons themselves and learning their sordid ways. Is that what all reapers are into, or just you?”

Seongwu doesn’t bother to deign Minhyun with a response, and spins on his heel, stalking away down the beach in the direction of the line of shops that Kim Jaehwan and his friends have headed back towards. He scrolls through the tabs on his app browser, staring with mild consternation at the fact that all the other names on his Death schedule has disappeared.

How is Kim Jaehwan not dead?

Seongwu says almost to himself as he quickly punches a code into his phone, “There must be a glitch in the death system somewhere. I need to call management to figure out a way to kill this guy. You’ve literally messed up my entire day.”

“I already told you that Jaehwan isn’t dying today, no matter how much you will it,” Minhyun’s hand comes down fast to swipe the phone out of Seongwu’s loose hold.

Seongwu huffs, scowling at the angel in front of him. “Give it back to me.”

Minhyun holds the phone in his left hand, out of reach, and since he is just that slight little bit taller than Seongwu, it is successful.

Seongwu again has to force himself not to being reduced into acting like a pathetic child by attempting to jump for it. He also tries not to whine but he has slowly reaching the end of his tether from this encounter. “You know, they obviously got something wrong when they gave your halo status. I mean, honestly, angels are supposed to be nice and completely gracious and accommodating, even if they are dealing with demons. Which I clearly am not. So, you should be just be nice and give it back to me.”

Minhyun shoots back a dry, “I am nice,” before tacking on a decisive, “And no,” at the end.

Seongwu scowls even harder. “Look, that guy has gotta die sometime so why not just let Death do his thing. My schedule says today is the big day so really, you’re just making this difficult for everyone.”

“I already showed you my own schedule, and it confirms that  _yours_  is wrong.”

“Your list is just a piece of paper! You could have written it on your own.”

Minhyun questions back simply, “And why should your square of wires and buttons be the supreme answer to everything?”

(Well.

That is true.)

“It’s department standard," Seongwu replies soullessly. "Anyway, I think we're both old enough so let’s act like adults about this. I’m just going to call management and sort this all out.” He tries to muster the best and most enthusiastic smile he can form on his lips (it really hurts him to do so), “Please, can I have my phone back?”

Minhyun hesitates for several long moments as they silently continue walking down the beach before he finally relents with a long suffering sigh, “I’m going to regret this, I know I will.” He finally pulls the jet black piece of technology out of his pocket and passes it towards Seongwu who makes grabby hands back at it. (Age is but a number.) “Anyway, you know my name, but you still haven’t given me yours.”

“Ong Seongwu—,” Seongwu says as he looks up to meet Minhyun’s gaze with sharp eyes, “—but it doesn’t matter because the higher ups are going to clear this and we’re never going to see each other again.” Seongwu returns back to being completely absorbed in the task of punching his key code back into his phone again and doesn’t realize he is about to get wound up in a tangle of seaweed on the ground. He feels his body get tugged sideways, and stumbling over his feet, but he doesn’t end up in the ocean again so that’s probably a plus one.

“See, I’m great at my job of being a guardian angel.”

Seongwu rights himself just be faced with a wide smile and an innocent expression. He plants his feet down on the sand bed to ask accusingly, “Are you implying I’m not good at mine?”

Minhyun shrugs as he lifts his palms up, answering, “Well if the schedule fits.”

That reply would have probably descended into another round of bickering from the pair of them if not for the call that finally comes through interrupting the moment.

“Please tell me this is all a mistake—” Seongwu starts complaining into the phone immediately after all the initial necessary greetings when he hears it’s his senior reaper, Jisung who’s on the other end of the line. Seongwu tries to explain the entire situation with vigor and gets more worked up with every word. “—I have this asshole guardian angel here who is getting in the way of my schedule. What can I do to make him stop?”

Seongwu sees out of the corner of his eye, Minhyun mouthing, ‘ _You_ want him to die so who's the asshole here’ before sticking out his tongue in the ultimate childish gesture. It seems he wasn't the only one. Seongwu pushes past Minhyun and turns around so his back is against the angel before carrying on, “The rest of the names I originally had for today has disappeared! I’ve never seen this happen before—” His brow knits as he hears his senior reply to him, “—you’re kidding me right?”

Seongwu stabs the ‘end call’ button with as much aggressiveness and impact as he can despite not being able to slam down a physical telephone. He continues stalking up the beach.

Minhyun lazily strolls beside him, long legs managing to keep up easily. “Not great news I take it?”

“They don’t know what’s wrong and they’ll have to look into it,” Seongwu replies, tone terse and irritated. “Jisung said he’ll contact me as soon as they know what’s going on...” His voice trails off, not wanting to complete the sentence but he does, “He told me to stay with you until they do.”

Minhyun just nods sagely, saying, “Even if they didn’t, you’re not getting rid of me that easily anyway. Who knows when you’ll try to kill my human again?”

"I don’t choose Death.”

“Whatever. If I can save a human that was supposedly meant to die,” Minhyun makes air quotes when he says the word ‘supposedly’, which Seongwu's lips flatten at, “who can say for sure that Death is not going to suddenly come back for Jaehwan again.” However as soon as he finishes his sentence, an alarmed expression follows on Minhyun’s face as his own words dawn upon him and in return, Seongwu’s expression brightens up, exasperation disappearing as quickly as it came.

Seongwu quickly pulls out his phone from his pocket again and is relieved to see the name Kim Jaehwan still written in clear defined symbols on the screen. “You are completely right. I just need to follow Jaehwan around. I’m sure he probably has another death up his sleeve soon which means I’ll be able to reap his soul and then go about with the rest of my work. This is all just a big mistake,” Seongwu says towards Minhyun with a winning smile, mood elevated again at the prospect.

There is a frown on Minhyun’s brow.

Seongwu revels in it.

Finally spotting his target in sight going inside the convenience store with the rest of his friends, Seongwu attempts to take a step forward so he can make sure not to lose Kim Jaehwan when he finds himself held back firmly.

Seongwu looks down and shivers, a physical reaction at both the sight and the feeling of Minhyun’s slender fingers encircling his wrist. “What are you doing?”

“I told you, I’m not letting you leave my side.” Minhyun’s voice is calm and steady as he levels his gaze with Seongwu. In another world, his statement might be considered romantic but alas.

“Okay, if this is your idea of flirtation, I’m not into clingy.” Seongwu stares pointedly at the physical connection between him and the angel. Somehow it feels strangely warm; so different to the ones he normally holds. He quickly reminds himself standing too close to fire is warm as well and you could potentially get third degree burns from it if you’re not careful and no one wants that.

“I’m just doing my job as much as you think you’re doing yours,” comes the simple aggravating answer from the aggravating angel. “And doing my job means to stick to you like glue in case Jaehwan comes into danger since he is still on your death schedule.”

Seongwu sighs. “When Death wants him, no one can stop it from happening.”

“I know that death is a fact of life and I’m not objecting to it. I’m just objecting to the fact of him dying today because my list says otherwise.”

Seongwu groans loudly, trying to pull his arm out of Minhyun’s reach. “Why did no one ever tell me how stubborn angels were? You’re ruining my day.”

Minhyun’s grasp around Seongwu’s wrist tightens as he just cheerfully replies, “It’s better that I ruin your day, than you killing my human and then finding out that the schedule is wrong.”

“How many times do I have to say that I don’t get to dictate when and how a person dies?”

Another mild stab of annoyance spikes into Seongwu when he thinks about it.

Against common belief, reapers don’t get to kill or murder or even decide the 5W1Hs of a death. They are simply civil servants of the afterlife, carrying out their already predetermined death lists and are just doing their job to help maintain neutral order of the world.

Seongwu just wants to complete his work shift for the day, and go home instead of dealing with guardian angels who all have savior complexes.

Instead of a biting comment back, Minhyun surprisingly replies hastily, sheepishly, “Okay, I’m sorry Seongwu-ah, I’ll admit I don’t know much about reapers so I’m sorry if I offended you.” There is a curious expression of intrigue resting on his face as he continues, “I’ve been a guardian angel all my life and we don’t get much of a chance on a normal day to work alongside the likes of your kind.”

Seongwu feels a hint of vexed pique over the fact that he didn’t give Minhyun permission to break formalities and use casual language but he doesn’t say anything out loud because he figures it’s just a lost cause.

Also Minhyun’s thumb is rubbing over the delicate skin that is the underside of Seongwu’s wrist still which is almost making Seongwu feel really odd and not able to concentrate on the fact that he’s supposed to still be supremely irritated.

Minhyun’s hand moves from his wrist to slide down to intertwine and thread in between Seongwu’s fingers as he smiles winsomely. “Let me get to know you better so I can understand your way of thinking.”

Seongwu allows his breath to catch in his throat, remaining silent. He also lets his hand continue to be held as he stares stoically at Minhyun, before finally saying, “This is some weird angelic intervention you guys purposefully do right? It’s the same one that humans fall for without you even needing to open your mouth. You’re just trying to distract me from Kim Jaehwan’s death.”

Minhyun’s mouth opens for a fraction of a second, before it snaps shut again with firm deliberation. He then chuckles, “Guess the game is up.” Minhyun releases his hold on Seongwu's hand, and it feels empty from the sudden lack of contact.

“Wow. I can’t fucking believe it. You’re a demon in disguise.”

“Hey!” Minhyun’s eyes are withering and reproachful as his wings shudder behind him in protest. “That is the biggest insult you could ever give an angel. Don’t compare me to them.”

Seongwu mutters under his breath as he closes his eyes, “Death save me.”

However it seems Death has obviously abandoned him considering what has happened over the past hour.

The pair of them stand there in relative silence, the only noise, the roaring waves in the distance with Seongwu wringing out the last drops of water from his shirt and Minhyun staring off at the horizon waiting for Jaehwan to leave the store.

From his current position, Seongwu can now clearly see why he initially thought Minhyun’s wings were so incandescent before. The answer comes to him nestled amongst the feathers of purest white as little glints of gold filaments that catch in the light with every small movement Minhyun makes in the orange glow of the setting sun.

Against better judgement (because really, when does he ever make sound and reasonable decisions?) and his disgruntlement, Seongwu moves closer to reach Minhyun and slowly stretches out his index finger to very ever so lightly drag along the tip of one of them. Soft and downy. The wings must be the most sensitive part of an angel because he receives a shiver and a startled noise in response.

Interesting.

“Do you not have any sense of self preservation whatsoever?” Minhyun grumbles as he spins around quickly. This is the first time since meeting him that he’s been anything but unflinchingly bright so Seongwu retracts his hand hastily. No one touches an angel’s wings without permission and he doesn’t know what possessed him to override his brain.

“Well as a reaper, I’m already dead so— I suppose, I guess not,” Seongwu answers frivolously but he does also offer up a tentative apology for his intrusiveness. His itchy fingers tend to get him into some sticky situations and the wrath of an angel especially a guardian angel (since they get protective as shit) isn’t something he particularly wants to be the target of.

“I don’t really like others touching it.” Seongwu notes no sting to Minhyun’s words though, just petulance and the sullenness of a cornered angel. “But it’s fine, I’ll make an exception just for you reaper, please ask first next time though.”

Minhyun is smiling playfully again and Seongwu doesn’t know how to reply.  _There’s not going to be a second time,_ he thinks firmly.

The store’s door jingles causing the both of them to jump, breaking his trance. Saved by the bell literally. Minhyun pulls his wings back into his shoulder blades and Seongwu turns to see Kim Jaehwan finally coming out of the store laughing loudly, looking like he didn’t just have a near drowning experience a little while ago.

(Why are some humans so resilient?)

Seongwu prays inwardly,  _C’mon please just die already and let me get on with my life_ as he watches the human crosses the parking area, half hoping a car backs into Jaehwan. However to his abject misery, Jaehwan gets into the backseat of his friend’s car safely, shouting his goodbyes to another car full of people.

Seongwu sighs aggrievedly and stalks towards it sliding into the backseat with Minhyun hot on his heels before Jaehwan can close the door.

“Shuffle over, you’re practically sitting on my lap,” Seongwu says wearily as he gives Minhyun’s thigh a gentle nudge with his own. It's useless however because the moment the angel shifts to give him a little bit more room, the slightly speeding car travels over uneven ground causing them to jostle around and jerk into each other again.

Seongwu’s heart almost kicks back into overdrive when he thinks it means maybe they’ll get into a horrendous crash over the cliffs on the way back into the city. He pauses. Has the tedious years made him a heartless monster? Seongwu shakes his head to clear his mind.

“I can’t help it, have you seen the state of this car? It’s filthy. I’m used to the state of Jaehwan’s house but this is something else altogether. It seems messy people attract other messy people.”

In the split microsecond, Seongwu forgets the weight of the day’s troubles that has been caused and feels like laughing when he takes in the expression of disgust on Minhyun’s face. The angel isn't smiling anymore. Seongwu snaps back to reality and sternly asks, “Is this really the time to think about cleaning? You should clean up this mess first.”

“Having high standards of cleanliness is one of the most important virtues, and I pride myself in having nothing to clean up regarding life,” Minhyun says solemnly. “Anyway, this is your mess.”

Seongwu takes a deep breath.

He looks at Minhyun speculatively before finally saying out loud, “You are the strangest thing that has ever happened to me.”

Minhyun just flashes him the whitest of grins. “You mean the best.”

Seongwu blatantly ignores the angel again though he can't help the slight buzzing in his ears. He rotates his body to face forward in order to look out the front window at the passing scenery and lets the distraction of Jaehwan and his friends chatting away to steal his attention from the larger than life angel sitting next to him.

 

An hour later, or perhaps several, Seongwu doesn’t know because he is still groggy when he wakes up from the nap he must have fallen into. The interior of the car is blissfully silent now but how he managed to in the previous noisiness of the vehicle from where the human occupants had been yelling songs out, he hasn’t a clue. Seongwu finds his head wedged in the crook of Minhyun’s shoulder.

He jerks away in embarrassment.

Minhyun looks at him with a small smile toying on his lips. “You looked tired, and I figured the longer you sleep, maybe the longer it would be before you willed death upon Jaehwan again.”

“Look, I don’t actually want him to die,” Seongwu replies defensively, “Well, not really. I just want to get on with the rest of my work shift.”

Minhyun stares at him. “But why?” There is a note of curiosity embedded in the question.

“What do you mean  _why_?”

“Why do you have to follow the rules?” Minhyun asks the simple question.

Seongwu is caught off guard. He doesn’t fluster often, really, there isn’t anything to fluster about when everyday is a routine but Minhyun continues to keep him on his toes. “I follow the rules because I have to. It's not like I can change death and this is all I know,” Seongwu says as he frowns, folding his arms. “Why do  _you_ save people? It’s because you’re a guardian angel; it’s naturally inbuilt into you.”

Minhyun stops to think for a while.

“I guess you are somewhat right. I am made to save my charges; my humans.” He pauses again before he continues, “But most guardian angels don’t work as closely as I do with their charges. It's because I don’t think one can stand faraway and work as great a miracle and be a good guardian, despite the consequences.” Minhyun blinks. “And so forgive me if I don’t quite understand how distant you can be and take death so easily.”  

Seongwu lets Minhyun's words wash over him.

“It’s kind of a side effect of the job,” Seongwu begins with a quiet laugh before allowing his eyes to turn serious. He’s not sure why he does but there’s such open interest shown in the angel’s expression that makes him feel like explaining. “It was a reaping that will always stand out to me. She was five. The sky behind her was lit with brightness from the falling stars but all I could see was the dimness in her eyes. I spoke to her and held her hand for a long time.” Seongwu feels Minhyun shift slightly next to him. “She went to Heaven but it took quite a number of reapings before I could look up at the night sky again.” Seongwu remembers the aching; still feels the aching. “It’s easier to not care about the person behind the soul and just follow the schedule I guess.”

Minhyun murmurs his apologies and carefully looks at him with considering eyes.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” Seongwu says as he waves his hand dismissively.

"Well, I'm sorry... for my previous reaction then. It's not easy losing someone isn't it?" 

"It's easier when you don't have any attachments, and like I said before, I can't change death. I can't make it happen or stop it from happening so I don't see the point?"

"True, but that doesn't mean you have to be so blasé about it?" Minhyun asks, though there isn't a spiteful tone to his voice, just slow contemplation. "I think, if I were human and were to die, I'd want my first interaction to be comforting and not disparaging. You might be protecting yourself, but I think we're here for a reason, and if we can help, we should do it to the best of our abilities. A little bit of closeness never hurts for too long."  

Seongwu remains quiet for a second. “Well, what’s so good about Kim Jaehwan then?” He looks sidelong at the sleeping human by his side. He’s probably going to regret asking that but Seongwu’s burgeoning curiosity begins to override his initial displeasure as he slowly comes to the conclusion that he’s never interacted so much with a guardian angel and by extension, a human before, especially not an  _alive_  one.

Minhyun lights up easily now (he’s so bright, he’s almost a fucking light bulb). “Jaehwan,” the angel muses. “He’s a little annoying and he’s really loud. He’s incredibly disgustingly messy, and trust me I’m not just saying that because I'm a clean freak,” Minhyun says before he smiles. “But— he’s responsible and persistently loyal. Do you know that Jaehwan currently lives in a one bedroom apartment with his parents and his goal in life is to buy them a house if he becomes successful?”

Seongwu feels somewhat guilty despite it not really being his fault. He says softly, "No, I didn't know that." Of course, he wouldn't know that.

“He has two passions in life; music and singing, and goes to audition after audition despite still being at university. Every time I save him, I feel good about it because he deserves it so I really hope that it isn’t Jaehwan’s time to go yet because he has so much potential and so much life to live still,” Minhyun says firmly, eyes resolute.

Seongwu hums, a low intonation of vibrations emitting from his throat. He thought he knew human behavior but in truth, all he knows are the cold hands that places onto his own and his own cold heart. He forgets that every person has a story behind them, he wants to forget. 

Seongwu doesn’t like this feeling, he knew he shouldn’t have asked. But he just says out loud, flippantly, “Well, it’s a good thing I don’t decide his fate then.”

As if on cue, his cellphone finally rings again. Seongwu fumbles into his pocket to pull it out.

“Seongwu,” Jisung says breathlessly down the other side of the receiver. “It’s a mistake.”

“What do you mean a mistake?” Seongwu frowns, brows angling straight down. Minhyun peers expectantly at him, unable to hear the other side of the conversation.

“There was a sudden huge problem with the technology and a ton of reapers are having the same issue as you. We’ve been inundated by calls. It turns out the system gave you one of Kim Jaehwan’s brushes with death dates instead of his actual death date. I checked the system five times over, and it says here that he’s not meant to die for another sixty years at least.”  

Well, that was anti-climatic. 

“Don't worry, shit happens I guess.” Seongwu exhales out a long breath. He is already dreading it when his headache increases at the thought of having to apologize, but he knows he must. “So, I can just leave him be and it'll be fine?”

“Yeah, and I sorted out the rest of your schedule too so you don’t have to worry about that. Sorry again.”

“Thanks Jisung,” Seongwu says with a sigh, bidding his senior goodbye. He clicks the off button and turns to face the waiting angel. “So…” Seongwu begins as he fills Minhyun in on the situation. “So, yeah it turns out that it was a mistake on our part, and I’m sorry for yelling at you in the first place.” The words are reluctant, stiff. “It’s never happened before so I didn’t think— well anyway, I apologize.”

“Hmm, I won't tell you so then,” Minhyun replies, a smile gracing his face at the thought that his human isn’t supposed to die for another few decades as long as he does his job. "Anyway, no harm done." The continued optimism he delivers is overwhelming. Seongwu nods but his expression turns slightly sour again when Minhyun continues, playfully gibing, “Though, to think you insulted my archaic paper scroll before.”

Seongwu purses his lips, but is distracted by the car finally pulling over to a stop as they reach Seoul and their destination. Minhyun glances down at his watch. “I think it’s time for me to go now as well if I don’t have to worry about Jaehwan anymore.” They both clamber out of the car, stretching out their tightened limbs. “Ah, I haven’t sat in one of these contraptions in a long time.”

Seongwu relaxes and almost allows himself to crack a small smile, when he comments, “You sound like an old man.”

“Theoretically we both are, aren’t we?” Minhyun’s eyes curve. “It was nice meeting you reaper and gaining some insight on your life, even if it were under some very extenuating circumstances."

Minhyun holds out his hand again, and Seongwu just stares at it, but this time after a long pause, he does reach over to clasp it, taking Minhyun’s palm in his for the first time by his own will.

 

 

* * *

 

  

Seongwu tries to return to his normal regimen after that and his days are full of back to back reapings. However, he still can’t get over the slight gnawing in his chest that he experiences whenever he lies on his bed at night, staring at the ceiling.

It’s only on a Wednesday when he’s on one of the university building’s rooftop just biding his time in between clients when he manages to spot Kim Jaehwan again. It’s a very strange moment, to recognize a human in such a way since all of his listed clients go directly to Heaven or Hell after they meet and Seongwu normally never sees them again. But he has a kinda, semi, maybe interest about a human’s life for the first time in decades and it’s a disconcerting feeling.

Looking down at the joy on Jaehwan’s face as he strums on a guitar in the middle of the quad makes Seongwu feel a little bad (okay really bad) for the numerous times he wished Death upon the student in the few hours of knowing him just because it was an anomaly to his schedule.

Since Seongwu has a little bit of time up his sleeve, he gives in to the sudden immeasurable need to continue listening to the song that is amplified even up to him on the fifth story via speakers.

“It’s not his day today… is it? I didn’t receive a notice again so I take it as another glitch?” Seongwu almost jumps from the voice that sounds out behind him. Seongwu looks over his shoulder from where he’s sitting on the jutting ledge, careful not to twist too far.

Seongwu notes that Minhyun’s words are soft and filled with trepidation. He replies hastily in an attempt to soothe him, “No, you’re still employed don’t worry." It's Minhyun's turn to look slightly suspiciously at him. “Cross my heart,” Seongwu begins, tracing an ‘x’ sign over the left side of his chest with his finger. “And hope to die,” he ends.

Minhyun replies plainly, “You’re already dead.”

"It's a figure of speech," Seongwu answers back primly which seems to appease Minhyun who nods and just gestures for Seongwu to move over across the narrow concrete. Seongwu silently complies and they sit there, shoulders almost brushing against each other, feet dangling off the edge.

“He’s a good kid and I hope he still has a full life ahead of him,” Minhyun repeats from the conversation they had from before.

Seongwu’s lips quirk in response to the fierce protectiveness infused in Minhyun’s words, but he does reply, “He will.”

It’s such a gap, the distance between their roles in web of the afterworld. They, themselves are poles apart as well. Minhyun with his unguarded and utmost zeal for life, and Seongwu’s complete apathy for existence after becoming desensitized after all these years in the business.

But Seongwu feels, maybe through an unlikely interaction, a possible friendship, they can still find a common thread and learn from each other.

The pair of them are content to keep silent, continuing to listen as they watch Jaehwan entrance the group of people he has surrounded around him, and even Seongwu who hasn’t made the time to do so in eons, feels touched by the song that is coming from the human’s mouth.

When the crowd finally disperses as the band starts packing up their gear, the silence gets broken.

“We’re playing with fate here,” Minhyun says as he stares over the side. It’s a long way down. (There’s also a hidden meaning in his words that Seongwu wants to wilfully ignore.)

He chooses the expected option instead, and merely peers over the side between his legs, at the air, the dust, the asphalt below, before pulling his body up back with ease to ask, “Hey, would you catch me if I fell?”

“I don’t think a reaper can die again,” Minhyun replies wryly as he lightly pokes Seongwu’s arm, “But we could test it out if you wanted to try.” A laugh pops out from Seongwu’s mouth and Minhyun smiles, looking pleased at being able to make the reaper do so.

“This sort of murderous intent isn’t particularly fitting for an angel,” Seongwu volleys back. “You better watch out because that attitude will become the death of you.”

Minhyun groans. He mutters under his breath though with a playful lilt, “I think I liked it better when you didn’t want to talk to me.” His nose crinkles. “Your death jokes are terrible.”

Seongwu grins. It’s easy now. “Got anything better?”

Minhyun taps his chin with his index finger, eyes roaming over Seongwu’s face. “Well, you do look a little like death today.” When Seongwu lets himself chuckle again, he feels an undeniable sensation in him; something he hasn't felt in a long time.

It should feel strange and peculiar, especially for a guardian angel and a reaper to be sitting only centimeters apart, laughing together.

One working for God, and the other for Death.

And yet when Seongwu feels the warmest of smiles, the warmest of hands next to his own, he realizes that Minhyun is the most interesting deviation in the endless years of his existence.

 

( All these years, Seongwu and Minhyun have previously existed in parallel lines, as soul reaper and guardian angel but with the weaving of fate, it’s now up to them to continue creating their own lines that intersect and cross. )

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> what do you get when you get when you cross:
> 
> writer's block + real life stress + a sudden realization that one does not do deadlines well + panic mode ?
> 
> you get this portioned snippet of what should have been a far bigger universe instead and i apologize profusely ; but many thanks to the prompter bc when i first saw it i really wanted to play with the trope of forbidden love and supernatural beings but make it something far more light hearted in a way these aus normally aren't. i know the ending was abrupt (IM SORRY I DIDNT EVEN MAKE IT TO ANY PROPER ROMANCE), but i hope you liked it regardless? ~~immortal boyfriends sequel, anyone?~~
> 
> thanks to my one and only, h, for allowing me to cry to you for the entirety of writing this and subjecting you to trash drafts. thanks to the mod of 101 love songs for running this. and thanks to you, my dear reader.
> 
> edit: [clears throat] it's me!! ;u; hit me up if u like on [twt](https://twitter.com/infede)


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